Paul’s Raw Milk Freedom Pitch Reflects Offbeat Campaign on Rise

When about 500 voters packed into a New Hampshire town hall last week to hear Ron Paul speak, they saved their biggest applause for something no other Republican presidential candidate is talking about.

“I would like to restore your right to drink raw milk anytime you like!” Paul said to loud and sustained cheers in the historic Peterborough Town House.

It was an emblematic moment for Paul’s campaign, which is powered by his call for slashing federal government and expanding personal liberties, including the freedom to drink unpasteurized milk that the U.S. government brands “unsafe.”

“We’re fanatics,” said 24-year-old Tristan Contas of Durham, New Hampshire, a recent college graduate who is planning to spend the week before the state’s primary volunteering for Paul in a youth-driven push the campaign is organizing. “Young people don’t like people telling them what to do — it’s a certain rebellion against the authority that is our government – – and Dr. Paul really speaks to that.”